What If Konoha Honored the 4th Hokage's Dying Wish
Chapter 15
-Chunin Exam Finals-
Naruto woke up early on the day of the finals. This had been an amazing month for him. The time he spent with his girls was so positive and uplifting that it kept a smile plastered on his face. The girls often requested to go on dates together. Anko took a special liking to Ino. It seemed both of them were bi-curious. They would never do anything without Naruto present, but they had kissed a few times, and liked it. Kurotsuchi and Samui were a far less excitable pairing, but they found comfort in each other's presence. They really started hitting it off after Naruto took them out for a date to a nice restaurant and then took them to the Hokage monument to look over the village at night. Both were really starting to fall for the handsome blonde.
Tsunade had apologized to Anko a couple of weeks ago. Since then, Anko was frequently in Naruto's room at night. She was a more than willing test subject for Naruto's new 'erotic jutsu'. The application of various types of chakras got various results. Naruto found that applying lightning and water chakra was the best for sensual stimulation of erogenous zones. The application of small amounts of fire chakra to his dick and fingertips would help keep Anko on her toes. Fire chakra in combination with water chakra also made his massages even more effective. By the end of each night, Anko was puddy in Naruto's hands.
Naruto had perfected the removal seal for the 'caged bird seal' and his theory work on the new seal was sound. There was no way to be 100% sure without actually applying it to a Byakugan user. Naruto had shared his plan with Jiraiya and Tsunade. They were concerned about the political fallout but trusted him. They each said they would step in and have his back if worst came to worst.
Naruto woke up, at breakfast and stretched. He meditated for an hour and then let Kyu out. Kyu wanted to watch from the stands with Tsume and Matatabi. It took Yugito a while, but she learned the shadow clone jutsu and let Matatabi out a few times to go rut with Kyu. It helped quiet the cat's incessant rumblings when she returned to Yugito's mind. She yelled at Naruto for not warning her about the memory transfer the day after Kyu and Tabi, Matatabi's alias, had sex. Naruto laughed his way to the bank after that. So, with a fist bump and good luck, Kyu left Naruto to finish his meditation.
Naruto showed up in the arena an hour early and met in the dignitary's room. He greeted AI, Ohnoki, Mei and the Fire Daimyo. All were excited to see his matches and promised to chat more after the finals. After agreeing to meet the Hokage in his booth at the start of the matches, he left.
An hour later, 11 contestants and Hayate looked up at the Kage's box. The arena was jam-packed with civilians, ninja and foreign dignitaries alike. The dull roared quieted after Hiruzen stood up and used a jutsu to address the crowds.
"To the citizens of Fire country, our guests, foreign dignitaries, the Raikage, Tsuchikage, Mizukage and Kazekage, I welcome you to the 30th bi-annual chunin exams! Before we begin today, I wanted to make an announcement. It has been my pleasure to serve Konoha and Fire country for the past 56 years. I am proud of the will of fire that has grown fiercely in our village. The will has led to the gathering of the Great Five and brought us closer to peace. Today, it brings me great pleasure to announce that I have found my successor. I hereby nominate Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze as my successor, to take effect on his 18th birthday. Naruto, please step forward, my boy."
Naruto stepped forward, wearing a haori and Kage shaped hat that denoted him as the heir apparent. He waved to the crowds and took in the cacophony of shouts and praises. He loved his village; this just reaffirmed it. Behind him, Ai and Ohnoki smiled because they knew that Naruto was going to honor his promise to them.
Hiruzen raised his arms and waited for silence. "Naruto is the son of our late Yondaime Hokage. He is also the reason that we have all Five Kage together here for the first time in over a decade. He has inspired peace talks that will take place after these chunin exams. I ask you all to pray to Kami for her blessing of peace. May the elemental nations prosper together! Without further ado, let us start the chunin exam finals!"
Hayate had the finalists clear the field and called for Neji and Naruto. Naruto threw a 3-pronged kunai at Hayate, who caught it deftly. Naruto then appeared in a yellow flash in front of Hayate and took the kunai back from his. This drew audible gasps from the crowd and then a roar of cheers exploded from the citizens of fire country. The twist of the Kazekage's lips into a brief snarl wasn't missed by Hiruzen. He gave hands signs to his guards, Jiraiya and Tsunade, so they would be ready.
"You were always so flashy. No matter, Naruto, today fate will favor me." Snarled out Neji.
"In a way, it will." Was Naruto's simple reply.
Hayate began the match and Naruto made a single shadow clone, applied a reinforcement seal, then addressed the audience. "Today, Neji wil face a single shadow clone of mine. This is to teach his arrogant ass humility. If Neji destroys this clone, he wins the match." Naruto's voice carried around the arena and was met by looks of confusion and outrage from the gamblers.
The clone of Naruto, dubbed Ruto for this fight, stepped forward and squared off against Neji. He secured the originals pouch to his leg. The two stared each other down for nearly a minute before Hayate coughed, igniting the two's movement. Ruto sped off in a blur while Neji activated his Byakugan. Neji processes the clone drop something out of his pack, and then Neji's whole world went white. The blinding power of Ruto's flash tags was set to maximum. Neji screamed out in a panic as he lost his sight.
Ruto started beating on the Hyuuga. He could've ended it all at once, but what kind of punishment would that be. The beatdown was interrupted after 3minutes when Neji called out 'heavenly spin' and a blue dome of chakra emerged around his spinning form. Ruto had to halt his advance until the dome faded. As soon as it did, Ruto appeared in a 'shunshin' next to Neji and kicked him on his chin. Neji went sailing into the air. What happened next was unreal. Ruto jumped into the air and summoned 10 shadow clones. Neji received a straight kick to his chest and an elbow to his face to propel him nearly 50ft in the air. Then, in rapid succession, three clones landed successive punches plummeting Neji to the ground. The whole time, Ruto's clone were saying, "U-Zu-Ma-Ki Barrage!"
The real Naruto flashed to Neji's location and quickly set up a barrier before Hayate could intervene. He applied a premade seal tag to the unconscious Neji's forehead. He paused briefly to look directly at the Hyuuga section of the audience and locked eyes with Hiashi and Hizashi. He then channeled chakra to the tag and called out 'fuin, kai!'. The seal disappeared from Neji's forehead. The Hyuuga's with their Byakugan activated, jumped the rails into the stadium and charged the barrier. Naruto then applied the new protection seal, which looked like the symbol of the leaf and applied it to the base of Neji's neck. A quick 'Uzumaki Protection of the Whirlpool – Fuin' was all that could be heard before all hell broke loose.
The Hyuuga elders and a couple of main house members surrounded the barrier in fighting stances. Hiashi and the Hokage appeared in front of them, surrounded by ANBU. "You will stand down or face my wrath." The god of shinobi made an appearance. The stadium was deathly silent.
"But …" A Hyuuga elder was cut off mid-sentence by Hiashi. "Silence! We will disrupt these exams no further. Any action taken by the Hyuuga will be done through me via the proper channels. Return to your seats or take a trip to T and I."
A very displeased group of Hyuuga elders frowned the whole way back to their seats. Hiashi bowed in apology to the Hokage before taking Neji's limp form from Naruto. The Hokage nodded to Hayate, so Hayate announced the winner of the match, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. The brief and awkward silence was replaced by a dull roar as Naruto walked to the finalist's box.
When Hiruzen rejoined the Kages in the Kage box, he entered the ongoing conversation.
"That was ruthless and efficient. He completely took away his foe's greatest strength and dismantled him." Remarked Mei.
Ai chuckled, "That beatdown was something special. I bet you that boy planned out how he was going to punish the Hyuuga. We all watched the preliminaries and saw him. That cold look in his eyes is the same his father always wore on the battlefield."
Ohnoki chimed in. "Indeed, Ai. I remember that look well. It still amazes me how he approached us. That bold look in his eyes and the oath he swore brought life back to my old bones."
Hiruzen's chuckle drew the group's attention. "Naruto-Kun has that effect on people. I apologize, Kazekage, Naruto didn't have time to make it to your village."
"Think nothing of it, Hokage. So, am I invited to the Kage summit that I heard you were having?" Came the cold voice of the Kazekage.
"Ahh, I had planned on inviting you after the finals, old friend." Was Hiruzen's cheerful reply. It was met by a curt nod and turn of the head from the Kazekage. "Or, I would have if you didn't kill the Kazekage, Orochimaru. You will not escape this time." Was the Hokage's follow up thought.
Back on the field, Kurotsuchi and Chojuro took their places. Ohnoki decided to comment, "Is that one of the new swordsmen of the mist, Mei-Dono?"
"Indeed, Ohnoki-Dono. I was quite impressed by you granddaughter's lava release. If these treaties work out, I propose an exchange of jutsu and training; I would enjoy passing on my techniques."
"Quite an interesting idea. Let's get it on paper and discuss it over some sake later." Replied Ohnoki.
The fight had begun and Kurotsuchi was dodging around Chojuro's attacks. She had prepared to fight against swords for most of the month by sparring against a Naruto clone. Naruto was far faster and more graceful than Chojuro. She used a flash tag Naruto had given her to buy some space. The stunned and partially blinded Chojuro lost sight of his opponent. He saw her coming to attack him with a lava coated fist to attack him. Chojuro channeled chakra to Hiramekarei and extended it into a bat of chakra. When he hit the clone, it melted into a pool of lava around the chakra construct. Kurotsuchi appeared behind Chojuro from beneath the ground. Chojuro's arms were still extended in the swing and Kurotsuchi had a kunai to his neck.
"Winner, Kurotsuchi of Iwagakore!" Hayate's voice echoed across the stadium. A polite applause followed the good fight. "Sasuke Uchiha and Haku Mamochi, please come to the field."
Up in the Kage box, Ohnoki had just finished doting on his granddaughter.
Mei conceded, "It was a good fight, Ohnoki-Dono. She earned my gratitude for not taking young Chojuro's life. Zabuza, please step up the training regimen for the future swordsmen. He left me wanting, so I expect you to make up for it." The playful and flirtatious tone earned sweat drops from the other Kage.
Sasuke was excited. He had seen Haku's match and witnessed her power. Itachi took the whole month to train him. His training focused on agility, which combined with the gravity seals, produced a monstrous improvement of his speed. While his eyes could track Haku in her mirrors, he doubted if his body could keep up. He wanted to prove himself to this foe that Naruto had already bested. It was important to him to take this step forward to join Naruto in pursuit of the orange mask.
After Hayate started the fight, Sasuke took off and appeared in front of Haku. Haku could keep up with his speed, but Sasuke had more power behind each hit. Kunais are heavier and denser than her senbon. Therefore, she was steadily losing the battle blow by blow. She finally caught one of Sasuke's hands and forced him to drop his kunai. She blocked his knee strike with her knee while going through one-handed seals. Everyone was stunned to see a genin working with one-handed seals. This was a high-level technique that few jonin ever mastered. Sasuke was too stunned to react to Haku turning into ice and starting to cover is right arm.
It was then that Sasuke was in trouble, immobilized by the ice clone, Sasuke could not escape the 'crystal ice mirrors' technique before it had completely surrounded him. The real Haku appeared in all 20 mirrors. Sasuke had his Sharingan activated and could tell that this jutsu took a lot of chakra. He was dodging volleys of senbon needles when he heard 'hyaton – violent blizzard'. One of the mirrors turned into snow and ice shards the flew throughout the dome. Sasuke put up a desperate defense by blowing out 'great fireballs' to melt the snow. His desperate tactic eventually worked leaving both contestants drained. Sasuke had cuts all over him trickling blood, nothing too deep but it took a heavy toll on him. Meanwhile, Haku was panting from her overuse of chakra.
Sasuke saw the mirrors weakening and took a deep breath 'katon – flamethrower jutsu'. He concentrated the beam of fire on one of the mirrors nearest him. He maintained the technique until three of Haku's ice mirrors shattered. She didn't have enough chakra to reform them, so Sasuke was able to escape. Sasuke paid for his escape by catching three senbon needles to his back. The fight in the center of the stadium reset to the roars of the crowd.
Sasuke was heavily injured and quite exhausted. He had yet to land a quality strike on his opponent. He saw Haku stumble for a brief step before looking up to ascertain Sasuke's position. Her eyes met his for a brief moment, but that was all it took. Sasuke put her into a 'hellviewing' genjutsu. While Haku was stuck in the genjutsu, he used his top speed to take her back and put a kunai to her neck. When Haku broke out of the illusion she took in her position.
"Proctor, I forfeit." Haku said in a dejected voice.
"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!" Said Hayate while raising Sasuke's right hand. The stadium erupted in cheers for Sasuke. Strangely, the Kazekage could be seen giving a polite golf clap for the Uchiha.
Hiruzen flashed some hand seals to Jiraiya, "Sasuke. Potential. Target. Get. Hawk." Jiraiya excused himself to go to the restroom and alerted Hawk of the Hokage's suspicions. Hawk told Jiraiya he had Sasuke covered before Jiraiya returned to his post.
The fourth match between Samui and Temari was a battle of opposites. Samui generally preferred close range fighting with her katana. Her opponent was a long-range wind fighter, so Samui had to close the distance fast. Temari floated down to the stadium on her fan with a cocky smirk plastered on her face. She had her fan opened slightly so one purple moon could be seen on the inside of her fan. As soon as Hayate opened the match, Temari launched a 'futon – wind gale' at Samui. Samui answered this by using shunshin to dodge the gale to the left. She flew through hand signs and whispered 'raiton – lightning beast tracking'. A wolf made of lightning took shape from the lightning chakra in her hands and charged at Temari. Temari knew lightning beat wind, so she ran from the lightning beast that was now chasing after her. This particular jutsu wasn't that strong, but it locked on to an opponent's chakra signature and ran at them until it hit something.
Temari dodged away from the lightning beast three times before she was able to dispel it with a couple kunai. However, Samui used this distraction to close the distance. By the time Temari realized it, Samui was two paces away already swinging her sword. The sword's edge had a blue hue to it, and it was sparking. Temari closed her fan and held it perpendicular to block Samui's horizontal slash. She wasn't ready for the sword to glide through the thick metal of her battle fan as if it were hot butter. Temari was left stunned, holding the two separate pieces of her battle fan as Samui held her blade an inch from her neck. The shocking sensation she could feel from sparks of electricity quickly encouraged her to surrender.
Hayate called the match and Temari fell to her knees. She had never been so soundly beaten before. "And what the hell is with that sword!? I have faced lightning users before, but nothing has ever gotten through my battle fan. Shit, what am I going to do during the invasion? Well … shit." Were the thoughts racing through Temari's head as Samui walked off the battlefield.
"That is quite the exceptional talent you have there, Raikage-Dono. She had a battle plan and completely outplayed her opponent." Hiruzen added a slightly playful tone to his voice to egg Orochimaru on.
"Why, thank you, Hokage-Dono. It is always nice to get a compliment from one hailed as 'the god of shinobi'. I must admit it is good to see the fire in your eyes again." Came the Raikage's good-humored reply.
"Well, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, Raikage-Dono. Since I am on my way out, how much would any of you give for the secret to defeating paperwork? I will admit it is an Uzumaki original jutsu that was entrusted to Konoha, but I think Naruto-Kun would be willing to share it with you." Hiruzen's tone was now jubilant. The Kage, Orochimaru included, surrounded him like rabid dogs surrounded the last piece of bacon.
Ohnoki opened, "Hiruzen, how long have you known of this jutsu? I thought we had a fellow bond as senior Kage. Surely, you would be willing to part with this secret of yours." The desperation in his tone would be something Hiruzen would never forget.
The Raikage cut in, "Whatever the old fence sitter offers, I will double it! Hokage-Dono, please! It is the bane of my existence. I simply wish to train more to keep this old body strong."
Mei added her petition. "It was much easier when I was simply fighting the rebellion. All of the cleanup and reform paperwork is drowning me. It is one of the main reasons I came here and left Ao in charge, I will offer one of the seven swords as payment."
Orochimaru may be a rogue ninja, but he still had all of the paperwork that being the Kage of Otogakore produced. It had cut into his experimenting significantly. Hell, he would call off the invasion for this secret alone. "Hiruzen, surely you would be willing to share this secret with an ally?"
The Hokage, Jiraiya and Tsunade all laughed gleefully. It was so simple, yet due to its simplicity, nobody thought it could solve the age-old problem of paperwork. "I will leave negotiations on this topic to Naruto-Kun, since he is my heir apparent. I am sure that he would be willing to part with it, but what you offer him is up to you."
All the Kage settled down at this. The old monkey had just played them. They didn't even realize that Chouji had forfeited his match against Gaara.
Flashback – Three days ago
Naruto walked up to the Akimichi household around dinner time with Kyu by his side. Chouza answered the door after he knocked. He gave Naruto a jovial greeting and a pat on the back before inviting him in for dinner. Naruto had visited the Akimichi about once a month to bond and learn more about the nutrition requirements of the Akimichi. Naruto thought that they were an unappreciated resource in the village and wanted to use them to improve training regiments and the overall quality of Konoha shinobi. Chouza was more than willing to talk to his old friend's son, which is why he was so caught off-guard by Naruto's serious mood.
Naruto sat with Kyu at the Akimichi table, and they were joined by Chouza, Chouji and Chiharu, once she had served the food. They ate in peace, but everyone noticed the difference in Naruto's demeanor. Naruto knew to never bring negative news to an Akimichi before they ate, so he did his best to enjoy the meal. After all parties had finished the main course and Chiharu was serving some key lime pie, Chouza addressed Naruto.
"Okay, Naruto-Kun. Thanks for letting us eat in peace, but now it is bothering me, what has you down, my boy?" The normally cheery face had a battle-hardened seriousness on it.
"Chouza-Sama, you heard the news from Shukaku today, correct?" At Chouza's nod, he continued. "Well, part of that is that Gaara is the jinchuriki of the Ichibi, Shukaku. To make matters worse, his seal is so poorly done that there is almost no barrier between human and biju."
Kyu cut in here. "My brother has always been bloodthirsty, but this is the craziest I have seen him. I have grown to care for my Kit's friends and wished to warn you."
"Brother?" Chouji asked.
"Yeah, Chouji. Please, don't freak out. I plan on revoking the Hokage's edict anyway. I am the jinchuriki of the nine tailed fox, Kyuubi. He was sealed into me on the day of my birth." Naruto paused here taking in Chouji's stunned expression and just decided to rip the bandage off quickly. "Kyu is actually the Kyuubi freed by a jutsu I created."
Chouza, already being in the know, put a big hand on Chouji's shoulder. "Son, I know this is a lot to take in, but you must accept there is a lot you don't know. I will leave the rest to Naruto to reveal to you in time." Chouji's head had turned and gotten stuck looking into Kyu's eyes. Kyu met his gob-smacked expression with a playful gaze and smirk on his lips.
"Look, Chouji. You can digest that later. Kyu has been my friend and partner since a little after I turned eight. If it means anything to you, know that I trust him with my life. I came here today to warn you about Gaara. I do not doubt your strength, but I would ask you to consider forfeiting. I do not wish to see you get hurt or die unnecessarily. Know that I have a plan to deal with it when the time comes. That is all we wanted to say. Thank you for a wonderful dinner."
Kyu and Naruto left the Akimichi household with the thanks of Chouza and Chiharu for looking out for their boy. Flashback end.
Returning to the stadium, Hayate announced that there would be a 20minute intermission followed by a display for Lord Jiraiya. The 20 minutes came and went, and Jiraiya jumped from the roof of the stadium while performing a summoning jutsu. Three giant battle toads appeared, barely fitting into the center of the arena. Jiraiya stood on the head of Gamabunta and addressed the stadium.
"Ladies and gentlemen, many of you have heard of the gallant Jiraiya and may have heard stories of my womanizing ways. Many more of you may have read my books. I wanted to share something with all of you. Eight years ago, my life changed. Many of you noticed my absence from bathhouses and brothels." The audience chuckled at this. "I credit this to the love of my life, Tsunade Senju. This wonderful woman always had my heart in the palm of her hands, and eight years ago she gave me a chance. I thank Kami every day for this. You all know of her beauty and skill in the medical field. What you don't know is that she has the biggest heart hidden behind that beautiful Kami-blessed bust of hers." Whistles and cheers met this statement. Jiraiya continued, getting down on one knee. The toads mirrored him and dropped to a knee and bowed their heads to Tsunade, who was now standing over the rail of the Kage box, clutching her chest. "Tsunade Senju, I promise to love and cherish you for the rest of my days. I swear off all other women and to hold you close every night I can. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Tsunade jumped out onto Bunta's head, tears streaming in her wake, leaving a glistening path. She landed and hugged Jiraiya, completely ignoring the massive diamond ring. "Yes, it took you long enough, you Baka."
"She said yes!" Yelled an ecstatic Jiraiya. The toads let out shouts of joy as they stood. The women of the audience were blown away by the adorable display. Every single girlfriend looked at their men wishing for something as romantic as this. The guys were focused on cheering for the toad Sanin. Orochimaru hissed a bit in jealousy. He always had a thing for Tsunade, but his experiments were more important. As they cleared the field in giant puffs of smoke Hiruzen stood and addressed the crown again.
"It is a joyous day for Fire country. Let's give the newly engaged couple a round of applause." The Hokage waited for the applause to die down. "Without further ado, let's being the second round of the chunin exams."
Kurotsuchi jumped down onto the field with Naruto. They gave each other and chaste kiss, earning more catcalls from the crowd. They wished each other good luck and took their positions. Hiruzen and Ohnoki sat forward in their chairs. Ohnoki had no delusions his granddaughter would win, but he was hoping for a good fight. Hayate began the match and the two lunged at each other with smiles on their faces.
Naruto started by performing a blunting jutsu on his blade. This surrounded the blade with a small cushion of air. Preventing it from being lethal, for the most part. He started with a swift horizontal strike at her midsection, which she promptly jumped over, spinning over his head and lashing out with a kick. Naruto casually move the head out of her foots path as she sailed over him. Naruto wanted to give her a chance to show off a bit, so he didn't take advantage of the obvious opening.
She landed 10ft away from Naruto and turned to see him, smiling that adorable smile of his. When he raised his arm and did a 'come get some' motion with his fingers, she was back at him. She launched a 'doton – earth spike jutsu' at him. Three rows of 5-foot-tall spikes rapidly made their way toward Naruto. Naruto created two clones to his left and right, then jumped in the air. Kurotsuchi spit a series of lava balls at the airborne Naruto. There was a brief shimmer and a Naruto clone popped out of existence. Using substitution with his clones is practically cheating.
Before she knew it, she was wrapped in a hug from behind and Naruto placed a kiss on her cheek before ducking under an elbow that was swung at his head. Naruto launched back into a series of backflips before he landed holding the bird seal. A massive gust of wind kicked up sand throughout the whole arena. Naruto's 'futon – great breakthrough' was so strong it could be classified as an A-rank jutsu. Kurotsuchi flipped two hand signs and spit out a mud wall that shielded her from the wind blast. She immediately began a long series of hand signs and place her hands on the ground, whispering 'yotun – great volcano jutsu'.
The ground shook under Naruto and he knew he may be in trouble here. Without waiting for the results, Naruto substituted with his clone hidden in the tree. A 20-foot-tall volcano sprouted out of the ground, spitting lava. The whole arena grew noticeably hotter. Naruto's clone had said 'fuck this' and dispelled before the heat could hit it. The middle of the arena was now coated in lava. Naruto let out a low whistle in appreciation for the jutsu at the panting Kurotsuchi. She was standing near the lava's edge, and her head swiveled in his direction when she heard the whistle.
Naruto took full advantage of her momentary fatigue and distraction to 'shunshin' behind her. He once again wrapped her up, but in a full nelson this time. Kurotsuchi fell back on top of him as her legs were forced to separate and give out. After whispering 'good fight, sweetheart' into her ear, Kurotsuchi called out that she admitted defeat. Naruto was announced the winner. Naruto transitioned from a full nelson to just wrapping his arms around her midsection. A blushing Kurotsuchi brought an elbow in to his gut and whispered, "Not now,Baka!" Naruto smiled and kipped up on his feet. The two left the arena together, holding hands.
Ohnoki was proud of the display Kurotsuchi put on, even though the blonde brat was playing with her. He knew Naruto's skill level and felt no shame. He was also happy to see them getting along so well. It was a good sign for things to come. "Well, I will have to beat some humility into that boy of yours, Hokage-Dono. I am grateful that it ended without Kuro-Chan getting hurt though."
"It was all in good fun, Ohnoki. I am glad to see how close they have gotten over this month. Young love is such a beautiful thing." Hiruzen said with a big smile on his face.
"I do hope there is room left in his heart for Haku-Chan. Zabuza, you should be taking notes, you studly oaf." Zabuza grunted at Mei's double low blow. He still didn't think the Gaki deserved Haku and now his girlfriend was comparing her to some brat. Oh, Zabuza couldn't wait to fight the damn gaki.
Orochimaru was furious. The leaders of four villages were sitting and chatting like time-old friends. He knew this probably ruined his plans. The other Kage would definitely interfere at this rate. However, he had his trump cards. He just needs to kill the old monkey and escape. It was far too late to call off the invasion. If he had time, he should kill the damn brat while he is at it. This kid is far too strong and would only get stronger with age.
Sasuke and Samui were walking on to the field. Sasuke was clearly still tired from his chakra-intensive fight with Haku. Samui approached in a very slow and cool pace. Both contestants nodded at Hayate and a brilliant kenjutsu battle followed. The audience really got into it when both contestants sheathed their swords in lightning chakra. However, the fight changed when Samui's 'Storm's Edge' had finally sliced through Sasuke's sword. When it came to a blade coated in lightning chakra, penetration was the specialty of the lightning element. The superior quality of the Uzumaki sword helped Samui achieve victory. The fight ended when Sasuke stumbled backward to avoid Samui's blade after his katana snapped. Samui held her blade over the Uchiha's heart and got him to surrender. She offered him a hand up after Hayate called the fight.
"Where did you get that blade, Samui-San?" Sasuke asked with more than a little jealousy.
"It was a gift from Ruto. He said it was one of his clan's swords. Its name is 'Storm's Edge'." She held her blade in its sheath for him to inspect as they walked back to the finalist's box.
Sasuke unsheathed the blade and couldn't help the fit of jealousy. The edge of the blade was in perfect condition, not a single nick on it. He couldn't help the fit of jealousy and rage that swept over him. As they walked into the box, he held up the blade and called out to Naruto.
"Oi, Ruto, what the hell man? I am one of your best friends and I don't get anything while you give this treasure to your girlfriend. What the hell, bro?" Sasuke indignant voice carried out past the finalist's box and could be heard by the rookies.
Naruto just walked up to Samui, snaked his arms around her waist and gave her a passionate kiss. "You see, bro. You don't do that for me. It is that simple. I tell you what, stop by the compound and I will hook you up, but don't you have some family blades handed down through the Uchiha?"
"Ruto, she just sliced through one of those blades like it was nothing. There isn't even a nick on her sword." Sasuke's indignant voice once again carried to the rookies.
Naruto just rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. "That's the power of fuinjutsu, bud. The blade takes her chakra to repair the edge. Come on and enjoy the rest of the matches."
Sasuke calmed down and took his seat. Naruto went back to his seat next to Kurotsuchi and Samui took the one to his other side. The throuple held hands and had content looks on their faces. Then Naruto realized that the next match was Gaara versus Shino. He jumped over to Shino and whispered something in his ear. Shino nodded before jumping down to the field.
The fight between Gaara and Shino was interesting. Shino kept dodging Gaara's sand attacks. He hid his bugs in Gaara's sand and was able to drain a considerable chunk of his chakra. Unfortunately, he now knew that he was up against a jinchuriki, so that wouldn't win him the fight. After Gaara launched a tidal wave of sand at Shino, Shino jumped to the far wall and called out to the proctor.
"Proctor, I forfeit. There is no way for me to win against this opponent." Shino yelled in the loudest voice anyone had ever heard him use. He was forced to dodge multiple sand javelin as he was saying this.
Hayate jumped in front of Gaara and announced him the winner. Gaara was beyond infuriated. He hadn't gotten to kill a single person. Shukaku was in his head, acting as his mother, demanding blood.
Hayate called out and addressed the crowd. "There will be a 10-minute break before a three-way battle for will determine the winner of the exams."
Gaara barely reeled in his bloodlust. He jumped up to the finalist's box and said, "Let's go, Uzumaki. Mother wants your blood."
"Umm, there is a ten-minute break, dipshit." Was Naruto's eloquent response. He wanted to talk to Samui. He got her to agree to withdraw. She knew Gaara was a jinchuriki and Naruto just told her about the expected invasion. She didn't want to get in Naruto's way, and she wanted to conserve strength for the invasion. Naruto created a clone that flashed into the Hokage's box.
"Pardon my intrusion, honorable Kage. I must speak with Hokage-Sama." He said while bowing low to show respect. Hiruzen nodded and took Naruto into a private conference room that was attached to the Kage box. He put his hands on the wall and activated a strong privacy seal.
"What is it, Naruto-Kun?" Hiruzen asked in a concerned voice.
"Well, I am sure you know, the 'Kazekage' is Orochimaru. I think Gaara is the trigger. I plan on neutralizing him before he explodes. I want to seal his biju's chakra. If that doesn't work, I will knock him out the old-fashioned way. Since the Kazekage is likely dead, it shouldn't cause an international incident." Hiruzen was always blown away by the serious version of Naruto. He was impressed that the boy would so readily step up to a jinchuriki.
"What would you like me to do?" Asked Hiruzen, matching Naruto's seriousness.
"Keep everyone out of my way. Keep your guard up and don't let the snake get you in a one-on-one. Please take this kunai as well. I have a feeling I may need to join your fight. If the snake or anyone else tries to prevent me from sealing Gaara, please stop them. It will take unbroken concentration for this to work."
Hiruzen took the kunai from Naruto and stowed it under his robes. He would put the ANBU and jonin on high alert. "What of Samui-Chan?"
"I have explained things to her, and she will withdraw. Okay, GiGi, see you on the other side. If anything happens to me, I love you. Thank you for all you have done for me." He wrapped Hiruzen in a heart-warming hug, which the Hokage returned. This one moment was more than enough payment for the near heart attacks this blonde caused him.
"Do be safe, my boy. I will see you when this is over. Have faith in your Kage." Hiruzen's calm voice put Naruto at ease as he left the room and jumped from the booth down to the field. He recalled Kyu into the seal for this fight, knowing he would need his partner's help to get this done right.
Samui leaned out of the finalist box and announced her withdrawal, to the disappointment of the crowd. Throughout the crowd, jonin were receiving a telecommunication from Inoichi, who was relaying the Hokage's orders. Their postures all straightened, and they became alert. Most of them were alerting the junior allied shinobi next to them in hushed tones.
Gaara appeared in the arena in front of Naruto by 'sand shunshin'. The bloodlust he radiated hung thick in the air.
"Alright, Kit. It is time to deal with my brother. I have talked to Yugito, and they will help deal with the invasion. If things spiral out of control, use the summoning jutsu. I sent my subordinate back yesterday and placed them on high alert. They will answer my call. And don't forget, Kit. I am here for you." Kurama felt his partner relax internally at this statement. Sage, he really had fallen under this brat's spell.
"Thanks, Kyu. I may use your chakra in the match, but I doubt it. However, I will not pull any punches in the invasion. I have deactivated all restrictive seals. All that's left is to kick some ass. Gotta go!" He ended abruptly at the match started.
Naruto was forced to dodge sand spikes that were appearing all over the ground. Okay, first we have to neutralize his sand and bypass his defenses. Naruto flashed three seals and called out 'raiton – thunder clap'. He charged both of his hands with lightning chakra and clapped his hands together. A thick bolt of lightning lanced toward the jinchuriki and penetrated the sand wall Gaara had put up. The lightning bolt made contact with Gaara's secondary defense and penetrated it, throwing Gaara backwards.
Gaara flew and tumbled for nearly 20-feet. The audience gasped as he struggled to get back up. Naruto dashed over to him in a blonde blur and smashed his fist into the scorch mark on Gaara's chest. Thanks to Naruto's version of Tsunade's super strength technique, Gaara went sailing into the wall of the stands with a loud crash. The spider web cracks were nearly 30-feet in diameter, centered around a redhead that was rapidly losing his shit. Naruto didn't want to get the fans involved, so he used 'shunshin' to get near Gaara and drag him out of the wall before he could begin transforming. Naruto felt the rise of biju chakra and knew he had to make his move. He grabbed Gaara's arm and chucked him back into the center of the arena before the sand could surround his arm. Gaara landed in a heap and sand was rushing all around him. Naruto created eight shadow clone captains that sprang into a hexagonal position around Gaara. They each flashed through a sequence of hand seals and called out 'Uzumaki fuin – raiton – electric barrier' a blue dome of electric chakra surrounded the now formed ball of sand. Kurama warned Naruto that this was how Gaara transitioned to his biju state.
When Orochimaru saw the barrier go up around the jinchuriki, he panicked. He gave his signal to begin the invasion. His two guards split into four and threw smoke bombs at the Kage's feet. This was the backup signal for the invasion, since Kabuto had been captured. Orochimaru attempted to grab Hiruzen by the throat, but the Kage countered Orochimaru's lunge and threw him into the stadium. Orochimaru was going to crash into the electric barrier before he used 'kawarimi' to substitute with an unlucky subordinate. Said subordinate crashed into the barrier and was treated to a shock like a bug tempted into a bug zapper, sorry Shino.
Orochimaru was now in the base of the arena, surrounded by Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hiruzen and eight Naruto clones. He didn't have time to escape before the clones called our 'Uzumaki fuin – raiton – electric barrier'. This barrier encased the whole arena, with Naruto's clones positioned inside the barrier. The barrier containing Gaara had shrunk and begun electrocuting the crazy redhead. The original Naruto was preparing a sealing circle. Orochimaru attempted to get to the down jinchuriki but was kicked backward by Jiraiya into the corner of the arena.
"Shit, fuck, what the fuck happened?" Thought Orochimaru. He briefly looked to see his 'Sound Four' engaging with ANBU squads. Jonin ninja around the stadium were dealing with enemy ninja while the chunin were leading genin in escorting the dignitaries and civilians. He was in trouble. Without killing the blonde, he wouldn't be able to get out of this barrier. He could try killing the clones, but he still has to get through his old team. He was panicking. He needed to create some space and summon his trump card.
Meanwhile, Naruto felt Gaara go unconscious from the pain and the subsequent massive spike of Shukaku's chakra. He finished applying the biju suppressing seal to the lightning barrier that was containing Shukaku. Naruto could see Temari and Kankuro looking at him through the barrier with pleading eyes. They then were forced to turn around and fight Kurotsuchi and Samui. Naruto returned to the task at hand and called on Kyu's chakra to forcibly restrain Shukaku's chakra.
"Kit, something isn't right with my brother. There is another presence. It is the soul of some old priest that forced its way into the seal. Thinking quickly, Naruto said, "Okay, Kyu. That seal should give us a couple minutes. The barrier is consistently weakening Shukaku. For now, we need him out of the picture. I will work on a solution for the priest problem later. We cannot reinforce his seal with the that priest in there. I think that is what's driving your brother up the wall."
"Gotcha, Kit, the hard way it is." Kurama pumped as much of his chakra into Naruto as the boy could tolerate. He made sure to keep topping off his reserves. The kid would have one hell of a chakra hangover, but that is a tomorrow problem.
Naruto felt the decrease in Shukaku's presence and let down the barrier. He placed a freshly written chakra suppression seal on the back of Gaara's neck. The sand offered no resistance anymore and the seal phased into Gaara's skin. The seal was written in an ink that contained his blood that was infused with Kurama's chakra. It is quite possibly the most powerful fuinjutsu medium in the world at this time. With the seal applied, Naruto channeled Kyu's chakra into the seal. Shukaku and Gaara's chakra could no longer be felt. In a flash of yellow, Naruto took Gaara to his father's training room.
He left a clone to draw some more suppression seals on the unconscious jinchuriki and flashed back into the stadium to the marker on Kurotsuchi's necklace. He arrived to see a one-sided battle. Kuro had melted Kankuro's puppet completely and was in the middle of a beatdown. Samui continued her fight from earlier and found much less resistance. Without her big fan, Temari's wind jutsu were far less potent. Naruto appeared behind Temari and applied a paralysis tag to her back. As she locked up, he did the same to Kankuro, who didn't even see him move.
"Kuro-Chan and Samui-Chan, these guys are political prisoners. They are the old Kazekage's children. He is most likely dead, but I want you to take them to the Raikage and Tsuchikage. Hand them off and return to your teams. The Raikage and Tsuchikage are holding the arena down. They should be able to secure them." Naruto said in a hurried but serious voice.
Before they could even say, "Be safe, Naruto-Kun" he had disappeared. They both whispered it anyway before moving to comply with his orders.
Naruto appeared on the top of the arena and took in the situation. The arena was mostly under control, but there was still Orochimaru to deal with. There was a massive three-headed snake wreaking havoc in the front of the village. Two other massive snakes were approaching the village from behind it.
"You ready to go, Kurama?" Naruto pulled on Kurama's chakra and entered his three-tailed cloak. He then used that chakra in a summoning jutsu. Kurama appeared at the edge of the arena, along with 20 foxes that were the size of lions. Kurama let out a roar and two seven tailed foxes, about a third of his size, appeared beside him. He gave them orders to purge the village of any ninja with a sound or sand headband. Then he and the two seven-tailed foxes made their way to the front of the village, being careful not to destroy too much on their way or step on any puny humans.
Upon hearing Kurama's roar, the whole village froze in fear. Then, ninja around Konoha bore witness to two more massive fox summons and a hoard of battle foxes. The chaos that followed was purely one-sided. Konoha suffered its losses, but the foxes changed the tide of the battle entirely. The order went out to focus on the snakes and Oto ninja. The foxes were called friendlies. Inoichi made this order clear through telepathic communication with the jonin squad leader.
Kurama was so happy to be summoned out of his container. The looks on the meatsacks' faces were hilarious. He was careful not to cause too much damage, but as he got to the snake summon, he lashed out with three tails. The gust of wind that followed the collision of his tails with the massive snake flattened the forest for 200meters beyond Konoha's walls. The horde of sand shinobi that were following the snake summons into the village were forced to attempt to take cover. Most of the 200 strong forces were okay, but the massive snake summons smashed 20 or so sand shinobi into bloody smears.
The massive snake was launched into the recently flattened forest. The fox could be heard laughing as his sharp claws severed the center snake's head. The rest of the summon fight was a bloodbath. Kurama's teeth sunk into the throat of the left head. With a deep, guttural and rumbling growl, Kurama's teeth clicked together in a massive spray of blood. The final head was wrapped in Kurama's tail and the snake's head rolled over the edge of the tail in the final massive spray of blood. The headless body writhed for a while after and produced tremors, but it was short-lived. Kurama loved this Kit, but nothing beat his fox form being covered in blood.
The sand shinobi fled from Kurama and reassembled in the woods where they called a hasty retreat.
The two seven-tailed fox summons finished their own fights. The snake summons were left in bloody messes, unable to retreat to their summon realm. The two massive kitsune then folded down on their massive front legs and bowed their heads to Kurama. "It is good to fight alongside you again, Kurama-Dono. Pardon my rudeness, but where have you been?"
"Ahh, Kalisi, it is good to see you again. It is a long story. I will bring our new summoner to the Woods soon and explain the situation. For right now, know that there are complicating factors. Your assistance is no longer required, as we would do more damage than good."
The other fox spoke. "Kurama-Dono, we thought we lost you to the Shinigami. I am relieved to see you again. We will await you in the Woods."
"Thank you, Fenrick. Tell the clan I look forward to seeing them." Kurama's short reply was enough for Fenrick, who was his right-hand fox back in the day.
All three massive fox summons disappeared in poofs of smoke, leaving a massive heap of snake and blood in their wake. Chouza, in his giant form, saw all of this take place. His chin was hanging open and a massive glob of saliva crashed down next to an equally stunned Shukaku. The splash of his friend's saliva brought him out of his trance with a resounding call of 'troublesome'.
The genin squads were responsible for evacuating the civilians and protecting the bunkers and hospital. Team 7 and 8 evacuated the academy students through the tunnels under the academy. Teams 9 and 10 joined a protective perimeter around the hospital. They each had to deal with two squads of Oto shinobi. Luckily, they all came out alive. Sasuke suffered from a kunai lodged in his left shoulder blade. He was missing the constant feeling of confidence that Naruto always provided team 7.
Back in the stadium, Naruto saw that most enemy ninja were being dealt with. He looked into the barrier and saw Orochimaru being put to the test by three people he loved the most in this world. Anko appeared behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He leaned back into her embrace, noticing the strong smell of blood that was covering her.
"Mmm. I missed you, Ruto Kun. You know you scared everyone shitless with that stunt you pulled."
Naruto chuckled. "I sure did, Hebi-Hime. Kurama is doing his thing and I trust him. All that's left for me is to deal with this snake. I am going to reinforce the barrier to make sure he can't get away. Then I am going to help GiGi, Bachan and Kyofu."
"Take me with you." Anko demanded with a firm look on her face. Naruto sighed. He was reluctant to let the snake near his Hebi-Hime. Anko shook his shoulders. "Ruto, I am serious. No sex for a month if you do this without me."
"Fine, fine." He said in a reluctant tone that abated when she planted a passionate, blood-covered kiss on his lips. Naruto wiped off the foreign blood and summoned eight more clones to take up positions around the barrier. The all put their hands on the barrier and channeled chakra. Naruto felt Kurama dispel and re-enter his mind. "Have a good fight, Kurama?"
Naruto could practically feel Kurama's smirk. "Sure thing, Kit. The foxes are getting restless. We will need to go visit them soon."
"Gotcha, Kyu. We need to wrap this up first. I don't like the feeling of the chakra coming from inside the barrier. How much more of your chakra can I take today?"
"I don't know, Kit. That summoning stunt put a strain on your coils. Give me a minute and maybe you can take a tail. Don't push it though."
Naruto nodded internally to Kurama before turning to Anko and holding out his hand.
"Don't make me regret this, Anko-Chan." His voice had a bit of pleading in it. She took his hand with a smile and the couple disappeared in a yellow flash.
Naruto appeared inside the barrier and saw two coffins. The third coffin had been smashed by Tsunade. The coffins had "1st" "2nd and "4th" on their fronts. Naruto knew this was nothing good. At least Jiraiya, Tsunade and Hiruzen look okay. The signs of their fight littered the area. Naruto saw the coffins drop their lids and immediately reach into his pouch. As the coffins' lids hit the ground, Naruto appeared in front of the coffins and applied chakra suppression seals to the two bodies and activated them. He received a powerful kick in his chest that shattered his 3rd and 4th rib on his right side. Before Orochimaru could remove the tags, Hiruzen performed a combination jutsu with Jiraiya. Jiraiya was spitting a geyser of toad oil at the snake and his two coffins. Hiruzen lit it up with a flame head shaped like a dragon. The ensuing explosion was massive, and the heat was contained inside the barrier.
Orochimaru hissed in frustration. That is when he noticed Anko and Tsunade attacking from his flanks. Anko managed to wrap him up in snakes long enough for Tsunade to land a world-shattering punch to Orochimaru's chest. His body went flying into the barrier, where a significant electric shock sent him flying back to the ground with his whole-body smoking. On the ground, Orochimaru began to emerge from the mouth of his old body. The group was no longer stunned by the grotesque display. It was his third time using it already.
A group of twenty shadow clones appeared, ten of them called out 'katon – dragon flame bullet' while another ten used 'futon – great breakthrough'. The original Naruto channeled chakra to shape the collaboration jutsu and said 'collaboration jutsu – kitsune firestorm'. The raging inferno encircled the newly emerged Orochimaru. The group could hear his screams of pain and frustration inside the firestorm.
When Naruto released the jutsu, nobody was ready for a big white snake with the head of Orochimaru to spring forth from the flames. The snake latched itself around Anko and tried to swallow her. Naruto panicked and forced a 'kawarimi' with Anko. He felt the snake trying to take possession of his body. Kurama's chakra flared to life around Naruto in a one-tailed cloak and the snake slithered away from Naruto, badly burnt by the corrosive chakra. The snake then caught Hiruzen's crushing blow with Enma, the monkey king, in his adamantine staff form. Anko jumped to her old master's writhing snake form and began stabbing it repeatedly with dual kunai, coating her entire body in the snakes blood.
The crumpled heap of snakes lay there, motionless, bloody and ripped apart. The group encircled the snakes and Anko threw one of her kunai to nail the one, tiny, white snake that was fleeing. It was the last remnant of chakra Orochimaru possessed. Once Naruto had recovered from his near possession experience and thanked Kurama, he sealed the snakes up into several different scrolls. He then incinerated the scrolls with a fire jutsu.
Hiruzen breathed out a heavy sigh. "That chapter is finally over. Thank Kami."
Jiraiya walked over and put his massive hand on Hiruzen's shoulder. Tsunade leaned into Hiruzen and wrapped him in a loose hug. "It's finally over, Sensei." They both said in a soft and comforting tone.
Anko had wrapped Naruto in a hug and was crying. Naruto was rubbing the back of her head in a comforting motion. Anko was going through a state of shock. The Orochimaru chapter of her life had been hanging over her for nine long years. She could finally start anew; with this wonderful man that was holding her in his arms. Naruto stood there comforting Anko for nearly five minutes as the old team Hiruzen got the closure they needed as well. Finally, Naruto dropped the barrier so they could begin to take stock of the situation.
Naruto had nearly burnt out his chakra coils. Kurama and Tsunade warned him not to use chakra for the next couple of days and Anko volunteered to take him to the Namikaze compound while Jiraiya, Tsunade and the Hokage dealt with the aftermath and cleanup.
Anko carried a worn-out Naruto through Konoha to the Namikaze compound. Most of the village was in decent shape, with small battle scars littered throughout. This was because they were heading toward the rear of the village where the damage wasn't nearly as prevalent. Pires of smoke could be seen billowing in scattered battle sites throughout the village. The couple gained their fair share of hoots, hollers and catcalls. They were glad to see spirits were still high, despite the attempted invasion.
Anko finally got to the Namikaze compound and carried Naruto to his bathroom. The two stripped after Anko drew up a warm bath. Naruto got into the tub first with Anko sitting in front of him. She lay back onto his chest as he wrapped his arms around her front. The two fell asleep in each other's arms in the bathtub.
Later that night, Jiraiya came home looking for Naruto. He wanted to check on the kid. He had never seen Naruto that burnt out before. He didn't find Naruto in his room or his father's study. He was walking past the bathroom when he heard the slight sloshing of water. Jiraiya decided to check it out and opened the door. He thought he walked in on a horror scene. The bathroom looked like a double homicide had taken place. There were bloody hand marks on the wall, bloody clothes with small blood pools coming from them and the tub was filled with blood-red water. He would've panicked if he didn't see the two sleeping peacefully in the tub. Jiraiya went and fetched Tsunade so she could see the horrifically cute sight.